SMJ wrote:have heard that the ministry seems to have realized some changes are required in the new arms rules 2016 and are looking to amend it!

Any idea what those "some changes" are?

Given the the very uncertain and perilous times now, the aggressive western and northern neighbor axis, it will be a nightmare for unarmed citizens if the Indian armed forces get defeated or have to retreat. It will be something very worst than 1962. Hopefully it does not start a nuclear war or world war three. Posting the following analysis which personally find convincing. Why I am convinced? Because it is a very serious question of around 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars of Chinese exports every year, around 70% of it will pass through CPEC. Also China needs oil to run it's economy and war machine, CPEC will be the shortest route for all these matters. Thus the involved parties are not going to take this matter lightly. It is being posted below not for discussing the politics involved but to understand the unfolding Geo political situation, get an idea of the seriousness of the situation, and consequences of possible grave human rights violations by disarming the common citizens in such situations. Needless to mention, the Indian State has absolutely no second line of defense in worst case scenario.

Let us make this very short for those in a hurry. No, India CANNOT attack Pakistan without risking a World War III and this is why India WILL NOT attack Pakistan. For those interested in knowing details, read along.

Those who have been exhorting India to go to war with Pakistan on social media and TV channels ever since the terror attack on an army brigade in Uri which left 18 Indian soldiers martyred need to note the Chinese equation.

A couple of days ago, Pakistani media reported that China has extended its unequivocal support to Pakistan against “external aggression” – a reference to India. In August, an influential Chinese think tank had stated that Beijing “will get involved” if India does anything to disrupt the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

By not letting India enter the NSG and by blocking India’s demand for labelling Pakistan-based Maulana Masood Azhar a global terrorist, Beijing has sent clear signs that Pakistan is VERY important to it. And you don’t need more reasons to say that China will militarily support Pakistan in case India retaliates.

But why, you ask. What exactly does China got to do with a country that produces nothing but terrorists? How can a principally atheist Beijing find in an Islamist Islamabad a friend? What exactly is this CPEC that has made China so aggressive that it is issuing such blunt statements directed against India?

CPEC means a lot to China – perhaps everything

CPEC is a $46 billion investment in Pakistan by China to build a trade route all the way from Kashghar in China’s Xinjiang province to Gwadar port in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Gwadar is a port city by Arabian Sea, which means that China will have a direct access to the sea itself through a route much shorter – and safer – than the existing one.

To understand this better, take a look at this map.This map of South Asia, as published by Hong Kong based publication SCMP, shows China's new Silk Route.South China Morning Post

The black line at the right end of the map shows the current sea route that China takes to reach the markets of Africa and Asia. See the dark pink line cutting through Pakistan almost vertically? That is the CPEC.

How CPEC provides a faster (and safer) access for China to markets in Gulf and Africa

Once fully constructed, it will help China transport its goods overland from manufacturing facilities located in the country’s east to Xinjiang over an already established high-speed railway and highway network at a very short time. From Kashgar, the goods will cross Pakistan and reach Gwadar over an improved roadways network. From Gwadar, the Chinese goods will reach anywhere in the Gulf and African countries through a sea route that is much, much shorter than the current one.

And the same route will help goods reach China quicker than they currently do on the longer sea route over the Indian Ocean.

At the same time, CPEC ensures that Chinese business interests do not get hampered in case Western powers, India or their allies in Southeast Asia block the Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia for Chinese ships, which could be the case in times of tensions.

What is China’s business interest in Africa?

Because of oil, the Gulf is already an important business region for nearly every world power, but it is Africa where China has established something like a colony of its own.

China has heavily invested in Africa. In December 2015, at the China-Africa Summit in Johannesburg Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $60 billion for the continent. That investment is important for the continuation of China’s growing influence in Africa. Of the 58 countries in the continent, China has heavily invested in at least 26, with Nigeria and Ghana having attracted the largest share.

Darker areas represent African countries where China has either heavily invested or has proposed to invest heavily. Nigeria and Ghana, both in West Africa, have attracted over $10 billion in investments. Business Insider

To maintain its hold on Africa, China needs far more robust trade routes to ensure smoother and speedy access to the markets in the continent and around. Thus the need for CPEC.

How CPEC is strategically important for China

The CPEC is not just an all-business deal for China, it also provides the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) a foothold in all of South Asia.

Chinese submarines will certainly dock at the port at Gwadar because Pakistan will of course have no objection. China will do so claiming that security of their new sea route is integral to them – which is a right of any country anyway. Yet docking of Chinese naval ships so close to India’s coastline is a security risk New Delhi can’t ignore.

China is building its first overseas military base in Obock, Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa to secure Chinese trade routes to Africa and, perhaps, Africa itself. Given Chinese pace of construction, expect them to complete and start the base very soon.

Djibouti is also home to a US military base, making it the only country in the world to have both Chinese and US militaries on the same soil – a strategically noteworthy thing given that both are competing at a very high level on nearly every sphere.

And why Gwadar?

Gwadar port was always a target for China but the port town became everything for Beijing only after trouble started in the development of Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port. That port, located south of the island nation, was a very important stop in Beijing’s Maritime Silk Route plans. While the Sri Lankan government under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa favoured China, things changed when his successor Maithripala Sirisena, who is more inclined towards India, came to power.

China’s activities in the construction of the port hit a roadblock with Sirisena’s arrival. Though there are reports that Sri Lanka, a weakening economy, and China are still talking about developing the port, the relationship between Colombo and Beijing is not as warm as it was during Rajapaksa’s reign.

How does CPEC benefit Pakistan?

Consider CPEC to be the final ray of hope for Pakistan’s economic growth. Countries which were once close allies of Islamabad have either left or drastically reduced their investment because of the State’s own sponsorship of terrorism, participating in human rights violations in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, and ignoring the suppression of minority groups at the hands of Islamist radicals.

It is only China which has remained steady with Pakistan, not because it has any love for the rouge State but for its own interests.

This map shows where, how much and in which area is China investing in Pakistan. The box to the bottom right compares US investment in the same areas. The Wall Street Journal

While China has virtually turned Pakistan into a vassal state, Pakistan too is benefitting from the relationship. Projects under the CPEC include building of four- to six-lane highways, constructing power plants (basically build the entire sector for power-starved Pakistan), and railway networks all across the country. Heavy investment has been done in infrastructure building of Gwadar and other places around it to facilitate China’s trade route. Three to take note of are these:

$3.7 billion – 1,681-kilometre Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar rail line.$2 billion – Natural gas line between Gwadar and Nawabshah. This line will eventually be linked with Iran.$230 million – Construction of Gwadar International Airport.

Technically, Pakistan knows that it is either the CPEC or it can bid goodbye to its economic dreams, if it has any.

The gambit?

So you see, the CPEC will be like a high-speed trade route for China provided other factors such as political instability in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan do not interfere with it.

And this is EXACTLY why Beijing technically warned New Delhi to keep its hands off of Pakistan. That India is now openly supporting Balochistan is in itself a worrisome thing for China because losing Balochistan would mean losing the entire CPEC.

This is why China will attack India if India retaliates against Pakistan. Plain and simple.

If China helps Pakistan, will not the US help India in case of a war?

Perhaps, no. The simple truth is that the US economy will be overshadowed by Chinese economy by 2018. China’s investment in the US too is only going northwards. Economic analysts at the Rhodium Group, a US-based economic monitor, reported that Chinese FDI in US hit a record $15.7 billion in 2015, which was up by 30 per cent from the year prior.

19.Extension of area validity of licence.─(1) On receipt of an application from a licensee holding a licence in Form III, the licensing authority may extend the area of validity specified in his licence, if he is satisfied about144

THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY[PART II—SEC. 3

(i)]the need of such extension subject to the condition that the licensing authority has the power to grant a licence in relation to the area to which extension is being sought.(2) The application for extending the area validity for whole of India may be granted by the licensing authority as specified in column (5) of Schedule II, in respect of the following category of licensees, namely:-(a) Union Ministers or Members of Parliament;(b) Personnel of Defence Forces and Central Armed Police Forces;(c) Officers of All-India Services;(d) Officers in the Government or Government SectorUndertakings or Public Sector Undertakings with liability to serve anywhere in India;(e) Dedicated sports persons and the sports persons specified in serial numbers (1) to (4) of the table in sub-rule (2) of rule 40.(3) In other cases, where the licensing authority is satisfied that the nature of business or profession of the applicant requires him to carry arm or arms frequently beyond the existing jurisdiction and such a requirement may not be met by the issuance of a journey licencein Form XI of these rules, the application for extending the area validity for whole of India may be granted by the licensing authority specified in column (5) of Schedule II to the applicant.

"Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." -- Robert Heinlein

pran80 wrote:Rahul_does,I must thank you for taking this up on behalf of all Indians. Please let me know if I can be of any help to you.Thanks,Pranjal Tripathi

1. Inputs from more members who are legal minded would add to the scope, in case some points are being missed, inadvertently.

2. I am totally ready and willing to hog it all and file the petition under my name and sign the affidavit etc. But, won't it be a good, socialist idea to form a legally recognised body (need not be registered) and appoint me as the 'competent authority' for doing all the running around and signing etc?

2.1. Again, I will carry the papers around, in case we are unable to meet at a spot for tea etc. I am based at Sector 69 Gurgaon and can travel anywhere for this purpose.

rahul_does wrote:1. Inputs from more members who are legal minded would add to the scope, in case some points are being missed, inadvertently.

Yes that is why pasting some points below for comments, corrections, ideas, participation and more inputs from everyone.

The date 1899 in Rule 2(I)(3) is arbitrary, unreasonable and ultra vires of Section 45(c) of Arms Act 1959. Section 45(c) makes it very clear that nothing in Arms Act 1959 applies to any weapon of obsolete pattern or antiquarian value. There are many firearms and their ammunition that do not predate 1899 but adequately satisfy being of obsolete pattern, or having antiquarian or artistic value as antiquity or art treasure as defined under the Section 2 of Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972. Thus such firearms and ammunition regardless of their date of manufacture, are very much within the meaning of Section 45(c) of Arms Act 1959 because being of obsolete pattern or having antiquarian or art treasure value.

Rule 2(I)(20) with help of expression "dedicated sports person" is creating a class of persons is ultra vires of legal right to equality of rifle club members under Section 13(3)(a)(ii) of Arms Act 1959.

The Rules 10(4)(a)&(b) are unreasonably burdensome and rigor-some on personal liberty as the applicant has already undergone the required training for safe use and storage under Rules 10(1). It is also ultra vires of Arms Act 1959 to the extent that it violates the letter and spirit of Arms Act 1959. The spirit of Arms Act 1959 can be ascertained by reading the Objects and Reasons of the Parliamentary Bill that became Arms Act 1959. It can be read in Gazette of India(Extraordinary), 20-2-1959, Part II - Section-2, Page 107. It can also be read in the judgment for Ganesh Chandra Bhatt vs District Magistrate, Almora and others, AIR 1993 All. 291 on 12 March, 1993, by Hon'ble Justice Markande Katju in Allahabad High Court. Reading of the Objects and Reasons of the Parliamentary Bill that became Arms Act 1959 makes it very clear that it was enacted to remedy the burden and rigors of Arms Act 1878 which was enacted with the view to disarm the entire nation.

Rules 12(2) & (3) are clear subversion of rule of law under the color of law, immaterial, unreasonable, ultra vires of equal legal rights of all citizens under the four walls of Sections 13(3)(a)(i)&(ii) of Arms Act 1959, against it's very Objects and Reasons for being enacted to do away with the rigors of Arms Act 1878, violation of the very foundations of equality before law, non discrimination under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution and suffering from vagueness and over delegation. Since getting a license is not a matter of threat or no threat but a matter of legal right under Sections 13(3)(a)(i)&(ii) of Arms Act 1959 flowing from Articles 19(1)(b), 21 and 300A, all the applicants should be treated equally during the due process of law for the issue of arms license. Use of the confusing, misleading, subjective and immaterial expressions in Rules 12(2) & (3) like "grave and anticipated threat", "being resident of a geographical area", "prime target", "facing danger to his life", "for any legitimate and genuine reason", "recommendations of the district magistrate", "has genuine requirement to protect his life and/or property", "dedicated sports person”, “being active member for the last two years" etc. give a very false, misleading impression as if the fundamental human right to keep and bear arms flowing from Articles 19(1)(b), 21 and 300A of the Constitution of India, fundamental human right of self defense and sports flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution of India, flowing into Sections 13(3)(a)(i)&(ii) of Arms Act 1959 are a matter of some threat or no threat from some quarter, or a matter of being a “dedicated sports person” and thus depend on caprices, personal perceptions and whims of the licensing authority.

To be an accredited trainer or master accredited trainer is a legal right under Rule 39 that flows from Articles 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. Rule 40 is unreasonably limiting the master accredited trainers only to those having worked with Defence Forces, Central Armed Police Forces, State Police Forces; and international medalists and renowned shooters as defined under the Explanation to rule 40. Such limited rule is violation of Articles 14, 16, 19(1)(g), 21 and thus discriminatory, unreasonable, unjust to accredited trainers and private individuals who due to their experience, training or on clearing the required eligibility test for master accredited trainer have the qualifications to get qualified as master accredited trainers.

rahul_does wrote:2. I am totally ready and willing to hog it all and file the petition under my name and sign the affidavit etc. But, won't it be a good, socialist idea to form a legally recognised body (need not be registered) and appoint me as the 'competent authority' for doing all the running around and signing etc?

2.1. Again, I will carry the papers around, in case we are unable to meet at a spot for tea etc. I am based at Sector 69 Gurgaon and can travel anywhere for this purpose.

Yes, what does NAGRI and persons from in or around Delhi say about this? Even everyone from around the country can sign the required papers and post them to you or your lawyer or the official address of NAGRI.

rahul_does wrote:3. It will be an SLP under Art. 32 only. (Whatever that means!)

It is an excellent idea. Article 32 is for the remedy to violation of fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution. SLP is for the remedy to "gross injustice". Giving justice is the highest and the ultimate goal of the courts of law. Here so many fundamental human rights under Part III of the Constitution are getting violated because RKBA(one of the foundational fundamental human rights) is being violated, that it's violation has become door/ backdoor for gross injustices, subversion of the rule of law and the Constitution itself.

Requesting everyone to post the objectionable rules with your reasoning.

The Rules 10(4)(a)&(b) are unreasonably burdensome and rigor-some on personal liberty as the applicant has already undergone the required training for safe use and storage under Rules 10(1). Intelligence is central to what it means to be human. There is no reasonable reason why a person, who has already undergone the required training for safe use and storage under Rule 10(1) will not follow it unless he gives a written undertaking of same under Rules 10(4)(a)&(b). Rule 10(4)(a) is also clearly an indirect way to deprive legal right to possession of firearms of all the citizens of this country who cannot afford to buy a safe or steel almirah. The very purpose of possessing a firearm for self defense also gets defeated if firearm is kept “in knocked down condition” as demanded by Rule 10(4)(b). Who will be made legally culpable if due to the legal requirement by Rule 10(4)(b) of “in knocked down condition” of firearm is responsible for victim of crime to be unable to effectively exercise his right of private defense under Indian Penal Code? Self evidently such a Rule under the color of law is injustice and thus also clearly violates Article 21 of the Constitution of India.